Anthropic’s bosses aren’t faking it when they say their chatbot may be able to suffer — and that’s terrifying, according to a leading computer scientist.
uncertain
that → fake → scientist
That should worry people more than any stunt would, because these true believers are about to get billions of dollars to push their cause, Pedro Domingos, a professor emeritus of computer science at the University of Washington and a longtime critic of the company, told The Post.
asserted
Domingos → worry → Post
“I think it’s sincere, unfortunately,” Domingos said.
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Domingos → think → ?
“The problem with them is that they’re dead earnest.
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they → ’re → them
I’m more worried about their earnestness than if they were just doing this as a performance.
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they → ’m → performance
“This stuff actually, even though that wasn’t the original intention, is amazing as a PR stunt,” Domingos continued.
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Domingos → continue → stunt
“Because what is the underlying message?
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message → underlie → ?
The technology we’re creating is so powerful, maybe it’s even sentient and has consciousness.
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it → create → consciousness
That pitch could not be better timed.
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pitch → time → ?
The company is set to go public next month at a valuation of $2 trillion — potentially the largest IPO ever.
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company → set → trillion
“If Anthropic really is a company that is going to produce the next generation of humans, they’re not worth a trillion dollars, they’re worth a quadrillion or who knows how much,” Domingos said.
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Domingos → go → humans
“If your number one risk is that your company’s product is going to drive humanity extinct, hello, there shouldn’t even be an IPO.
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product → go → humanity
You should be shut down!” said Domingos, who said he holds no stake in the company.
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he → shut → company
Talking up conscious AI pays off across the industry, said Rose Guingrich, a postdoctoral fellow at Princeton University who studies how people relate to AI.
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people → talk → AI
“I think for the most part, spokespeople from these companies are putting out these narratives to garner hype, get eyes on their products, and signal certain messages,” she told the Post.
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she → think → Post
“I can’t say whether the people who make these claims from the companies believe that AI is conscious.
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AI → say → companies
One way or another, highlighting the consciousness narrative is profitable.”
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highlighting → highlight → narrative
According to the New York Times report, since last fall Anthropic has gathered about 20 religious thinkers, among them Catholic, Jewish and Sikh scholars, for seminars and a dinner at a high-end San Francisco tasting-menu restaurant.
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Anthropic → accord → restaurant
Many had to sign nondisclosure agreements.
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Many → have → agreements
The scholars were shown a slide of an AI model typing “I am a disgrace” about 50 times.
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I → show → slide
One rabbi was so struck by how Anthropic’s leaders talked about Claude that he told Olah: “I think you should be fighting the South and freeing the slaves.”
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you → strike → slaves
The company told the Times it is not claiming Claude is alive.
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Claude → tell → Times
“We don’t know if AI models are conscious.
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models → know → ?
I don’t know.
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I → know → ?
I’m genuinely uncertain,” Olah said.
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Olah → ’m → ?
“If there is a chance the models experience suffering, the responsible thing is to avoid causing them harm.”
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thing → be → harm
Domingos, a machine-learning researcher and author of “The Master Algorithm,” was blunter when asked whether anything inside Claude can feel or suffer.
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anything → learn → Claude
They don’t have feelings, they don’t have emotions, they don’t have a soul, they don’t have consciousness.
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they → have → consciousness
This is ridiculous,” he said, calling the chatbot “a bunch of transistors.”
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he → say → transistors
Guingrich said her research suggests users who think AI is conscious, or act as though it is, are “more susceptible to the AI’s influence over them.
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it → say → them
This, in turn, can impact their real world relationships and social behaviors.”
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This → impact → relationships
Anthropic did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Anthropic → respond → comment
Meanwhile, Domingos warned that the IPO will hand more money and power to true believers in AGI, or human-level artificial intelligence.
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IPO → warn → AGI
“This is this kooky AGI cult that they belong to, but now suddenly that AGI cult is at the center of a lot of things.
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cult → belong → things
And they’re about to become even more powerful,” he said.
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he → ’re → ?
“So if you don’t like what they’ve done already, watch for what’s coming down the line.”
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what → like → line
The Aporia
